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Black cab drivers vent anger over Clean Air Zone proposals

There were heated exchanges at the Council House today over the impact on taxis of the Clean Air Zone proposals.

The row, at a city council meeting earlier today, centred around proposals for a new age and emissions policy for Hackney Carriage and private hire drivers.

They will be hit by £8 daily charges for journeying inside the A4540 ring road from January 2020 if their vehicles are not compliant with new pollution measures.

The charges will impact high-polluting diesels older than a EURO 6 (manufactured before 2015) and petrol cars older than EURO 4 (made before 2006).

Full story here

15:33

Find out if YOU are exempt from the Clean Air Zone charges

A range of people and vehicle types will be exempt from the Clean Air Zone charges even if the vehicle is classed as ‘high polluting’.

Most exemptions are time limited, lasting for a year or two years from the date the Zone is opened, expected to be a date in January 2020.

They are designed to make it easier for residents, employees and businesses to plan to upgrade their vehicles to ensure they are compliant.

The exemptions are:

Vehicles registered to the addresses of residents living inside the Clean Air Zone - two years

People visiting key hospitals, GPs and care homes inside the Clean Air Zone - first year only

People travelling into the Clean Air Zone for work - first year only

Commercial vehicles registered within the Clean Air Zone, including HGVs, light goods vehicles and coaches, maximum two per firm - first year only

Vans and minibuses registered as providing essential community and school transport services that are classified as section 19 operators, registered for operation in Birmingham – all years

Vehicles registered with disabled tax class – exempted for the duration of the CAZ

All other road users will be charged £8 per day for cars and vans, or £50 per day for lorries and buses.

15:14

"Very concerned" about impact of plan for Ladywood

Responding to the announcement, Lee Dargue, the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary spokesperson for Birmingham Ladywood, said residents, businesses and service providers were “very concerned” about the plan, due to come into force in January 2020.

“Many people are supportive of the need to improve air quality, especially for our children, but we don’t believe this plan is the right way forward.”

Around 90% of people who responded to consultation over the Clean Air Zone did not approve of it - yet the council pressed on regardless, he said.

He said the council had also “picked sides” by favouring black cabs over private hire taxis “when residents and visitors should have the option of choosing the service they want.”

15:04

Backing from business leaders for Clean Air Zone plan

In a statement this afternoon, business leaders at Colmore BID (Business Improvement District) said: “Colmore BID supports the city council-led initiative to clean up the air in Birmingham.

“We all have a responsibility and common purpose to act locally.

“To create a business environment that encourages sustainable growth, we constantly endeavour to support alternative transport such as cycling, buses, trams and trains.

“These have to be viable choices to allow people to move around the expanded city.

“We believe that purposeful collaboration between the private and public sectors will create cleaner air for all.”

Time for a rethink on Clean Air Zone

“Given that there seems to be a large shortfall in the expected funding, it is an opportunity for the Cabinet to rethink this ill-thought out plan.

“The proposed emission zone charging area is too large and will aggravate the city’s worst pollution hotspot - at Dartmouth Circus.

Dartmouth Circus

“It could have been drawn much more tightly around the city centre, allowing all traffic to continue to use the A38 to pass smoothly through the city centre.

“As things stand, people on tight incomes who can only afford second-hand vehicles are facing substantial discrimination.

“The wealthy will be able to cruise down the A38 in expensive new vehicles while the poor divert onto the heavily congested middle ring, causing even more pollution.”

12:00

Twitter reaction

Improvements to the quality of the air we breathe in the city is vital and welcomed - that was the majority reaction to the announcement from users of Twitter.

Dad Keith Houston tweeted: “My son goes to to nursery in the city centre. The air that he and I breathe on the way there will be far less polluted than before. This is a good thing!”

Clean Air Zone (Image: Handout)

John Hill-Daniel said: “I live in #KingsHeath, and I’m hoping that eventually the #CAZ will expand as far as here and ‘affect’ me too #brumbreathes”

11:52

Jewellery Quarter will be unfairly affected, claims business owner

Watch maker Karl Shore, whose business is in Vyse Street, inside the Clean Air Zone, has responded to approval for the scheme:

“This could end up being the final nail in the coffin for many businesses here, as people are understandably put off by the charge and choose to take their custom elsewhere.

Jewellery Quarter

“Whilst there has been a growth in residential development in the area over the last few years, retailers and manufacturers have struggled as we compete against the internet and areas such as the Bullring,” said Mr Shore, director of Creative Watch Co.

“Yet without these historic businesses being allowed to thrive, you lose the heart of the Quarter and its distinctive charm that provides a draw for residential development in the first place.

“I think all of us want to see cleaner air for our children and grandchildren but with the Jewellery Quarter not having the same air quality issues as the eastern ring road and with other more positive changes like improved public transport not yet in place, this charge feels like a step too far and one that will cost jobs and undermine the heritage of our city.”

11:39

Birmingham Clean Air Zone explained

11:33

"Another nail in the coffin for city retailers" - swift reaction on social media

One city shopkeeper responded to the announcement that the Clean Air Zone was going ahead in distressing fashion, fearing his business might be hit hard by the new measures.

Clive Huntbach warned: “I’m concerned my business will fold as people won’t come into the city centre.

“I’ve spent years building it up for nothing. With many shoppers now choosing to shop on line already it’s another nail in the coffin for many retailers.”

Comment on Facebook from Clive Huntbach

Taz Evans made a similar prediction: “This is going to kill of Birmingham city centre and business in and around this. Stupid idea - bus fares, taxi fares and parking will go up. And people who live within the zone will be isolated from family and friends.”

While Somayya Gefori echoed the concerns of many residents who work within the charging zone. “This is not just about people choosing not to shop in town anymore. What about all of us who work in the city centre? Who will have to pay regardless of what transport we use, since they have said buses will be charged too. Worst decision ever.”

11:11

"My dad was a taxi driver - the Clean Air Zone is about protecting them too"

One of the groups most opposed to the introduction of the Clean Air Zone has been the city’s black cab drivers, who fear they will be particularly hard hit by the scheme.

Their anger spilled over into direct protest last week when the heart of Birmingham was gridlocked, with commuters facing long delays out of Birmingham.

But now the city council has committed to hold further talks with their representatives from the RMT Union to try to resolve the key issues.

Today, speaking to BirminghamLive, Coun Waseem Zaffar, the city’s Cabinet member for Transport and Environment, said he understood and appreciated the concerns raised by taxi drivers.

But he was adamant the proposals were in their interests too:

“My dad was a taxi driver. He died prematurely at the age of 54 from sudden heart failure. I am certain his health may have been affected by constantly driving around the city. When I look back I think of how poor the air quality was through those years.

“I strongly believe these proposals will help those who regularly drive around our city. We have to support the taxi community and I fully intend to do that, and I am certain this will help their health and wellbeing too.”

Black cabs

Raja Amin, who represents black cab drivers in the city, said he welcomed the Government go-ahead for the scheme and also welcomed the city council’s pledge to sit down and work with the taxi community to sort out some contentious issues.

“We have challenged them on several points and they are listening.”

Further go-slow protests are cancelled, pending the outcome of those talks, he added.

10:48

Will your car comply with the pollution rules - or will you have to pay?

Birmingham City Council say the Clean Air Zone is designed to reduce the number of high polluting vehicles in the city.

Vehicles which comply with strict emission rules will be exempt from charges.

They include cars which meet the Euro 4 emissions standard for petrol and Euro 6 standard for diesel.

In general they are petrol cars made since 2006 and diesel cars made since 2015.

London’s new Ultra-Low Emmission Zone, or ULEZ, gives a good indication and you can check your car here .

The Clean Air Zone is designed to rid the city of high-polluting vehicles (Image: SWNS.com)

10:44

Why is a Clean Air Zone being introduced in Birmingham?

The architect of the Clean Air Zone scheme is city council Cabinet member Coun Waseem Zaffar. He told BirminghamLive today: “We are facing a public health crisis.”

The aim of the scheme is to bring pollution down to legally safe levels and cut the high levels of lethal nitrogen dioxide in the air - protecting lives, he said.

According to research the poor air accelerates the deaths of 900 Brummies a year - the young, elderly and those with breathing and lung conditions are particularly vulnerable to pollution.

Birmingham is one of five cities which have been ordered to implement clean air zones by 2020.

Cllr Waseem Zaffar, Birmingham City Council Cabinet member for Transport and Environment, is pictured at bus stops in Colmore Row (Image: BIRMINGHAM MAIL)

The others are Leeds, Nottingham, Derby and Southampton. They face heavy fines if pollution remains high after that.

“We want to improve the quality of the air and improve the lives and wellbeing of people living in the Clean Air Zone, without adversely impacting on people.”

He added: “The introduction of a Clean Air Zone is the start of our fight back.

“I welcome this announcement from the Government, which gives approval to the plans we have put forward to bring air pollution levels down to legal limits.

“We feel that we will have sufficient resources to get the balance right between introducing a very much needed Clean Air Zone and supporting the communities and businesses potentially affected by these measures.”